What's New in Storybrooke?
by Andi88
Summary: Emma and Mary Margaret find out all the things that have happened in Storybrooke since their little trip. This is my answer to what I feel are some seriously glazed over moments since their return! Chapter two: Emma Has What Now?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey folks! No, I haven't ditched Proud of Your Girl, I just hit a bit of writer's block is all. Y'all understand, right? :) I decided to write this after The Cricket Game because I was so disappointed about how they handled Emma, Snow, and David being introduced to all these revelations, namely but not limited to: Emma and Snow's introduction to Belle, Emma's introduction to Ruby being a wolf, and especially David's introduction to Emma's powers. I would like to point out that The Outsider on the other hand, was freaking amazing, but that's beside the point. **

**Anyway, this is just a bit of my fangirlism rebelling, and how I think some of these moments and conversations might have gone if the writers had thought to actually SHOW them to us! Feel free to point out spelling/grammar mistakes, I didn't check it too carefully.**

**First up,**

**Emma and Snow Meet Belle.**

"Emma, will you stop giving us that look?" Mary Margaret said under her breath, a ghost of a smile on her face. "We said we were _sorry._ It won't happen again."

Emma flinched, thinking that her sideways glances at her and David had been discreet, but shot them another one regardless. It was a shy look, a mixture of humiliation, disbelief, and amusement. Humiliation that she had walked in on Mary Margaret and David having flippin' _sex, _with her son in tow, no less, but thankfully the blessedly naïve little boy hadn't realized what was going on. Disbelief that she had actually walked in on her _mother _and _father _having sex. And amusement because, okay, it was kind of funny. And she was surprised by the feeling it caused her, she actually felt like a kid completely grossed out by her parents making out, because truthfully and mercifully, that's _all _she saw. Yet underneath the embarrassment, and slight revulsion, the part of her that was Mary Margaret's best friend was thrilled that she was finally happy with the man she loved, and the part of her that was a daughter was delighted that she had parents who loved each other so much. It was all very complicated. Like her entire freaking life right now.

"Fine," Emma grumbled in answer. "But somehow I doubt that it won't happen again."

Mary Margaret gave a comical grimace and shared a look with her husband as if, she too, wasn't convinced.

"That what won't happen again?" Henry asked.

"Nothing!" the three adults answered in unison. Henry scowled, but didn't pursue the subject, looking as if he had a feeling he didn't really want to know. Particularly innocent for his age, it didn't change the fact that he was eleven, and would be beginning to understand this stuff more and more. Emma groaned inwardly, realizing for the first time that "the talk" now fell to her. Screw that, she could let David handle it!

The four turned a corner, walking leisurely to Granny's for the welcome home party being hosted there. Emma carried the tacos she and Henry had made after the…incident that morning. She felt surprisingly calm and content, like she hadn't felt in a very long time. She had her family, (her _family!) _ beside her, and was on her way to a party that was half just for her. Normally she didn't relish being the center of attention, but today she found she liked it. She and Henry had caught a glimpse at the decorations earlier that day while out shopping. Emma had laughed outright when she saw the "Welcome Home Mary Margaret" sign from her friend's party after she had been released from jail, with an improvised "and Emma" sign hung below it. All in all, she was just so damn glad to be home. A glance at Mary Margaret's glowing face proved that she felt exactly the same.

Her thoughts were derailed by a loud, frustrated cry.

They all turned and looked across the street toward the old clock tower, where a young woman with wild brown curls was standing on a ladder, trying to hang up a sign above the door that said, "Storybrooke Free Public Library Opening Soon" with difficulty. She growled again in aggravation as the one side of sign slipped.

"That doesn't look like a good idea," Emma said, referring to not only the woman being that high on the ladder, but being also in a dress and high heeled shoes. "What the hell is she thinking?"

Before she knew it, David and Henry were trotting across the street, just as the ladder started wobble. "Belle! Hold on!" David exclaimed.

David reached the bottom of the ladder just in time to keep it from falling. Emma and Mary Margaret came up behind him, and he was treated to a smack from his wife, no doubt thinking that he was looking up the girl's dress. David only gave her a puzzled look, and Emma smirked, reading in his expression that he had no clue what the slap was for.

Emma glanced at Henry, and smacked him. He really was looking up her dress.

"Belle, why don't you come down?" David called. "Let me help you."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "Wrong shoes for the occasion, lady."

The woman, named Belle apparently, had already righted the sign, so she slowly descended the ladder and turned, revealing a flushed face, dazzling blue eyes, and the most genuine smile Emma thought she'd ever seen. "Thanks David," she said in a lilting accent. "I suppose I shouldn't have tried doing that alone, I just couldn't wait to see it up!"

Both David and Henry seemed to already know her, though Emma had no clue who she was. The boys clearly liked her though.

"You're opening the library," Mary Margaret exclaimed. "I've always wished someone would! It's been closed the whole 28 years!"

Belle grinned at her, then her eyes widened. "Oh! You must be Snow and Emma!" she held out her hand to shake Mary Margaret's. "I've heard _so _much about you! I'm so happy to finally get the chance to meet you!" she turned to Emma, shaking her hand as well. "Henry has told me _all _about you!"

"He has?" Emma asked, slightly suspicious as to why her son has been around this stranger.

Belle nodded. "He comes over after school sometimes to teach me to use that…computer thingie in the library. He's such a good teacher! I…hope that's okay."

Emma glanced at David, who smiled and nodded, and trusting his knowledge of this girl, she smiled back at her. "Of course, that's great," it was only after she said it that she wondered why on earth this 20-something year old woman didn't know how to use a computer.

Belle's grin widened, if that was even possible. And Emma found herself being charming by her, despite her oddness. "I'm Belle," she said unnecessarily.

"It's nice to meet you, Belle," Mary Margaret said, confusion written on her face. "But how is this? I've never seen you before," this really surprised Emma, since she was the only one present who had been in Storybrooke, awake, for the whole curse.

Belle's face paled slightly, and her smile faltered. "I…um…"

David intervened. "Belle is Moe's daughter; we met her after you guys left."

Emma's eyebrows shot up. She remembered what Gold was screaming at Moe the night she caught him beating the other man. "It's your fault! You were her father!" she was suddenly very concerned, not only that Moe had potentially hurt his own daughter, but that it mattered so deeply to Mr. Gold, of all people.

A thought was forming in the back of her mind. This wasn't just a woman named Belle, this was _the _Belle. The Beauty. Though Emma had regrettably not been much interested in fairytales and princesses growing up, she knew all about Beauty and the Beast. Though she'd never tell her mother, Belle had been her favorite. A bookworm like herself, who was unafraid to speak her mind or challenge the Beast. So if this was Beauty…where was her Beast?

Belle looked acutely uncomfortable. "I was kept away," she said flatly, as if she didn't really want to get into it.

"That's one way of putting it."

Emma spun around at the voice, finding Mr. Gold standing not three feet behind her. She hated when he did that.

"You're late!" Belle declared teasingly. "I had to be saved from falling off the ladder by a different hero this time!"

Emma spun back around and stared at her. Did she just tease Mr. Gold? To her shock and horror, she found the young woman's face completely lit up, smiling at Mr. Gold like…like…oh Lord…like Mary Margaret smiled at David.

"I apologize, Dearie," Gold said softly, speaking to Belle in a voice Emma had never heard from him before. It was scarier than his angry voice. "Though I do wish you would stay off of ladders. You may not always have willing men around to catch you!" he chuckled. "Then again, maybe you will."

Belle giggled and moved around Emma to playfully bump Gold with her hip and take his arm.

Oh. God. She was _flirting _with him! Emma's mouth dropped even farther than it had that morning and looked over at her parents. Mary Margaret was in a similar state of shock, David looked amused, and Henry looked like he thought that all of this was perfectly normal.

"You'll catch flies with your mouths that way, ladies," Gold said, his voice returning to normal. Normal meaning sarcastic and dangerous. Mary Margaret and Emma snapped their mouths shut, and he sneered at them. "Now, if you are all done interrogating Belle here…"

"Rumpel!" Belle admonished. (Rumpel?!) "That was rude! They weren't interrogating me, they were being friendly."

Gold looked thoroughly chastised. Emma couldn't believe her eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled, more to her than anyone else.

"We have to be going, anyway," David said, placing one hand on his wife's back and the other on Emma's arm, as if to steer them away.

"Bye!" Belle exclaimed. "It was great meeting you. I hope to see you all on opening day!"

"Of course," Mary Margaret said, recovering more quickly than Emma. "I can't wait!"

"Bye, Belle!" Henry called over his shoulder.

Emma followed her family, casting glances back at the unusual couple. "Ready for dinner, sweetheart?" Gold said, his eyes loving and gentle.

"Lead the way, Rumpel" Belle replied happily. "You were right, I like Emma and Snow."

"That was…surprising," Mary Margaret said once they were out of earshot. "She's so young and pretty and he's…_Rumpelstiltskin._"

"He's the Beast," Emma said. "She's the Beauty. I guess if Rumpelstiltskin can double as Hook's crocodile…"

"Everyone deserves True Love," Henry said as if it were so obvious.

David put his arm around his wife. "And he loves her. That much is for sure. He thought she was dead the whole time we were here."

"Where was she?" Emma asked. "She said she was kept away, did her father lock her up or something?"

"I'm not entirely sure," David said. "They've never said exactly where she was all this time. It wasn't with Moe, though. Even Gold knew that. He _did _however try to push the poor girl over the town line so she would forget all about Gold. The way Gold reacted…his anger was about more than just forgetting him and the injustice of it all. I got the feeling that whatever her false memories contained, they were bad."

"Wow," Mary Margaret muttered. "But she stays with Gold anyway? Does she even know what he is? What he's done?"

"Far as I can tell," David said. "She was angry at him for a while, moved out of his house, they've only just started…dating," he smirked. "He came to me asking for relationship advice."

"He did not!" Mary Margaret exclaimed at the same time Emma loudly declared him a liar.

"He did, asked how Mary Margaret and I make our marriage work. I told him he had to start being honest with her, it seems he's been taking my advice."

They walked the rest of the way to the diner in silence, and Emma tried to take in this information. If someone had told her before that Gold had a girlfriend, she would have been alternately disgusted and disbelieving, and probably would have thought all manner of mean things about a woman who could possible love him. She couldn't help but wonder if they were...nope. Not gonna go there.

But Emma, along with being a human lie detector, prided herself in being a fairly good judge of character, especially in women since all men were initially met with distrust from her no matter what. And, regardless of her taste in men, Emma liked the bubbly, happy-seeming girl.

She wanted to get to know her better, to find out what happened to her these 28 years no one knew she was even alive. And though Emma wasn't convinced _everyone _deserves to be loved, her childhood adoration for the bookish fairytale character came out, and she found herself happy that Beauty found her Beast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, another chapter! No promises that the next one will come out so fast, but who knows. I don't have a whole lot to do today. ;) I wrote this right along with the first chapter, and it was originally meant to be more centered between Emma and Charming, but somehow wound up focused more on Snow and Emma. Though Charming, at least in my opinion, gets some good lines in here. It takes place between the scenes where Emma plays with the magical mystical dream catcher, and where they show up at Regina's.**

**A note about names: Since this chapter is in Snow's POV, she's referred to as Snow. (Also because Snow is a lot faster to type than Mary Margaret. :P) Since last chapter was in Emma's POV, she was MM. I've been getting a little confused by the show. In The Outsider, Charming seems to have gone back to calling Snow MM even when it's just the two of them…while at the beginning of the season he was calling her Snow. Weird. I don't think I've caught Emma calling her anything, but I think that's probably for a reason, leading up to calling her Mom maybe. (I hope!) As for Charming, yes, as you may have guessed, I thoroughly believe that his realrealforreallyreal name is David. I'm willing to put money on it. (Or, you know, maybe it's Honeymuffin like in The Lark's fic Once Upon a Parody…which is hilarious if you haven't read it yet!) **

**Sorry for the long note, but without further ado,**

**Emma Has What Now?**

They waited at the apartment after calling Blue and explaining the situation to her. They needed to trap Regina once again, and they needed Fairy Dust to do it.

Snow watched her daughter pace restlessly in the small space. She knew how she felt. At one time she had wanted so badly to believe that Regina could change, that she could be redeemed. Emma had clearly hoped for the same thing, though more for Henry's sake than for any real interest in the woman herself. Or maybe she had held out hope for Regina too. Emma acted like everything she ever did since arriving in Storybrooke had been for Henry and Henry alone, and while that was a large part of it, Snow could see well past Emma's cynical and jaded exterior.

In truth she was a woman who cared, cared very deeply about others in general. She fought tooth and nail for Mary Margaret when she was framed, fought for the twins who needed their father, she shoved Snow out of the way to sacrifice herself to Cora…

Snow shivered at that memory, her mind's eye replaying that sickening moment when she thought Emma was gone, the pain, fear, and resignation in her daughter's eyes.

Those things had nothing to do with Henry, in fact the last would have destroyed him, but Emma was a hero through and through, though she vehemently denied it. She was selfless and brave and a born leader. She was also rash, bull-headed, and temperamental, but she was Snow's daughter, after all.

So maybe Emma's distress now that they had learned that Regina really did kill poor Archie wasn't _just _because it was going to break Henry's heart. Perhaps she, like Snow had all those years ago, wanted to believe that the Queen could come back from evil. That there was good in everyone. That magic and power couldn't completely destroy your soul.

Snow kept watching her child, wishing more than anything that she could comfort her somehow, that she could take all this pain and fear away, but she was at a loss. She still hadn't figured out how to be this woman's mother, though she wanted to with every fiber of her being. A warm hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she turned to find her husband staring at her with worried, confused eyes.

"You have to tell me what's going on," he said very quietly, trying not to let Emma hear.

"What do you mean?" she whispered back.

"What in the hell happened back in our land? How did Emma obtain magic? And why the hell didn't you tell me before?"

Snow bristled at David's harsh tone, but fought back a sharp response. They were both exhausted emotionally, sad, and worried, and she realized he had every right to be upset. "I'm sorry, there just hasn't been the right moment. There's a lot we haven't gotten the chance to talk about."

David nodded at that, relaxing.

Snow's shoulders slumped tiredly, dreading what she had to tell him but knowing it was necessary. "Emma didn't _obtain_ magic, Charming. She simply…has it."

"What?" he shook his head in disbelief. "How is that even possible? Neither you nor I have magic, and from everything I've ever learned about it I know that you can't be born with it, you can only learn it, though some may be more capable, or susceptible than others. Even fairies have to have fairy dust and wands, they can't…_do_ magic on their own."

"I don't _know_!" Snow said, unconsciously getting louder. "I have no idea how it's even possible, but it is. I've seen it, and now so have you."

"It's because of you," Emma said, startling them both. She stood a few feet away, looking nervous and fidgety. Her words weren't meant as an accusation, only a fact. "Gold said so. I told him about what happened back there, I thought that it was something _he'd _done to me, but he was actually surprised. He's said time and again that True Love is…"

"The most powerful magic of all," David finished for her. "Because you're _our _child, you have magic?"

Understanding hit Snow like a wave, and she nearly gasped under the weight of it. "She doesn't _have _magic, Charming," she said, her voice full of wonder. "She _is _magic."

"The product of True Love," Emma mumbled, clearly quoting from something.

"But, ours isn't the only True Love to ever exist," David said. "There have been other children born of it, but never have I heard of anyone…_inheriting _magic that way."

"But I was the Savior," Emma said. "I was the one to break the curse. When I broke it, and Gold brought magic here…it must have been what gave it to me," she looked hard at Snow. "I think in some ways I always felt it there. I've always felt like there was something in me, something clawing to get out," she gave a weak smile. "I always thought it was just my bad temper."

"So what happened that released it?" David asked. "Snow, you said you saw it back home."

Snow bit her lower lip and shared an anxious look with Emma. This was the part she'd dreaded the most. "It was at Lake Nostos when we were fighting to get into the portal to come home. Emma was grappling with Hook for the compass, and I was just trying to keep Cora busy as best I could. Emma bested Hook, and we made a break for it, but Cora was faster. She was just too powerful, we couldn't get past her."

David tensed. He had never had the pleasure of meeting Cora, but Snow had told him enough that he knew how dangerous she was. Emma was no longer looking at them, but had found a spot on the kitchen counter to stare at.

"Every time we got up to fight, Cora would just fling us aside with her magic like we were nothing," Snow continued. "I challenged her, asked her why on earth she wanted to go to Storybrooke," she shot an apologetic look Emma's way. "I was terrified, I thought if all else failed, maybe I could distract her long enough for Emma to get through the portal."

Emma's head shot up at that, but she didn't say anything, doubtless remembering when she too had forged a plan to get Snow home, with or without her.

Snow took a deep breath and looked into David's eyes. "Cora was going to rip out my heart, to give to Regina," David's eyes widened in horror while Snow's filled with tears. "But Emma pushed me out of the way, and stood in my place while Cora's hand went through her chest."

"What?!" David exclaimed, rushing to Emma's side. "Does she still have it?!" he looked her all over, much like Snow had done after the attack.

Emma shook her head. "She couldn't."

David turned back to Snow, who finished the story. "Cora reached her hand in, but couldn't pull it back out. Then there was a pulse of light, like when the curse broke but…brighter…purer. And Cora was gone, flung away I don't even know how far. When it rushed through me, it took the breath out of me," she walked up to Emma and took her shoulders, trying to stop crying. "But it was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen."

David stood stock-still, in awe. "That's amazing."

"But you didn't know that you could do that," Snow said, shaking Emma's shoulders slightly and finally letting the pent up fear and anguish over the moment take hold while her voice raised to an almost hysterical level. "You didn't know that would happen, you could have been killed, Emma, or _worse_!"

"I know," Emma said, close to tears herself. "But I couldn't…couldn't stand and watch her do that to you. Not after I just found you. I didn't think, I just acted. I had to protect you…I…"

"Like you've always done," Snow said, somewhat sadly. "You've always taken care of me. Do you have any idea what it felt like for me to watch Cora's hand go through your chest?" almost unconsciously, Snow's hand drifted to the spot where Emma's heart still beat, finding comfort in the pulsing rhythm.

"Something like seeing Henry die at the hospital?" Emma whispered. "I'm sure as hell not sorry I saved you, but I'm sorry I ever made you feel that way. No one should ever feel that way."

Snow pulled Emma into a tight hug. "I'm not sorry you saved me, either," she said with a small laugh. "But can you just let _me _put _you _first, next time?"

Emma laughed, clearly catching the reference, but didn't pull away. "I'll try."

The phone rang, effectively breaking the moment, and David moved to answer it. "Hello?" he answered, then cleared his throat when his voice came out thick with emotion. "Good, yeah why don't you come here and we can figure out a plan? Okay, bye. That was Blue," he said, hanging up. "She has the fairy dust and she's on her way over."

"Good," Snow said, and felt a hand slip into hers. Emma looked like she was about to be sick. "Emma, honey, it's going to be okay. We'll be right there with you."

"That's not it," Emma said, her voice hoarse. She was quiet for some time, simply holding Snow's hand tightly and staring at what must have been an interesting spot on the counter while Snow and David waited for her to continue. "Magic is…dangerous. It corrupts. You said yourself that Regina was a good person, once. There's no way that what happened with you and Cora is the _only_ reason she spiraled this far. According to Henry's book, even Rumpelstiltskin was a normal guy once before he became the Dark One. What if it happens to me?"

Snow gasped and her mouth dropped, speechless that Emma could really think that way. David recovered more quickly.

"Emma, while it's very true that magic comes with a price, it isn't what _makes _people evil. They had to have already had that in their hearts. Regina was good once, but the death of her love in front of her eyes would have been enough to drive anyone mad. And Rumpelstiltskin didn't just learn magic, he accepted something that in and of itself was evil. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be careful, but Emma, there's no evil in you."

"How do you know?" Emma exclaimed. "There's darkness inside everyone! And I am certainly no exception!"

"But there is a very big difference between you and them," Snow said, voice firm with conviction. "And I know without a shadow of a doubt that it's true. You're stronger, Emma. Stronger, I think, than all of us. You won't succumb to darkness because you won't _let _yourself. You're far too stubborn for that!"

That got a small smile out of Emma, but she quickly turned serious again. "But…but if True Love is the most powerful magic of all…and I'm…" she shifted uncomfortably while trying to get out the words she surely had a hard time believing she was actually saying. "If I'm the _product_ of that love, then I must be…"

"Powerful," Snow said. "I'm going to be honest, if you're more powerful than Cora…Em, you may be even more powerful than Rumpelstiltskin. And he's the most powerful sorcerer in any world."

Emma blanched. "I don't want that," she whispered helplessly.

"This doesn't have to be a bad thing," David said, putting his hand around her shoulder. Emma surprised everyone in the room by leaning into his embrace instead of out of it. "We're going to figure it all out. Together. And if, just _if_ you ever feel yourself slipping away, we're _here_. We'll help you. Love is strength, Emma, and trust me, kid; you've got plenty of it here."

Emma raised her eyebrows and regarded David with the same kind of faith in her eyes that Snow knew had been in hers when she looked at her father as a child. David had no idea how poignant his words had just been, but Snow didn't comment on it. She just watched Emma's face as one more piece of her armor came loose and fell, and for just a second she let herself be put first.

**Hope you liked it! I'm actually quite pleased with this one. Next up, Emma finds out about Ruby's "time of the month." I'm trying hard to squeeze these moments in between the ones in the show to keep it canon, but boy did a lot happen in two days during The Cricket Game! If you have requests or suggestions for other missing scenes you'd like me to explore, let me know!**


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